Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

yaoi

/ˈjaʊ̯.i/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.52 in modern English

Syllables: yao-i
IPA: /ˈjaʊ̯.i/

7

Scrabble Score

4

Letters

2

Syllables

4

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A narrative or visual work featuring a romantic or sexual relationship between two or more men.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

A form of hentai involving two or more men in a gay relationship.

Countable; Uncountable

name

A surname from Japanese.

Example Sentences

"I have a ton of gay porn, actually. He knows. I'm a major yaoi freak. But only if it's manga and anime. Because I'm just a pervert like that."

Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese やおい (yaoi), an acronym of 山(やま)無(な)し (yama nashi, “no climax”), 落(お)ち無(な)し (ochi nashi, “no point”), and 意味(いみ)無(な)し (imi nashi, “no meaning”), originally mocking those who criticised early yaoi works for being too focused on sex scenes instead of storylines.

Origin

Source language: Japanese

Word Breakdown

Root: 矢追

Usage

Inflected Forms

yaois (plural)

Derived Forms

yaoicest yaoiful yaoigem yaoislop yaouri

Phrases

old man yaoi yaoi hand yaoi hole

Frequently Paired Words

danmei fujoshi GL shoujo ai yuri

Synonyms

BL shounen ai

Rhymes With

howie owie yowie

Questions

How do you pronounce yaoi?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈjaʊ̯.i/.
What does yaoi mean?: A narrative or visual work featuring a romantic or sexual relationship between two or more men.
Where does yaoi come from?: It is traced to Japanese.

How to pronounce yaoi

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “yaoi”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈjaʊ̯.i/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “yaoi”.
Repeat and practice — Say “yaoi” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.